There was a lovely moment after Edinburgh’s game against Gloucester when Scotland and Glasgow Warriors centre Sione Tuipulotu came down from the stand to give his younger brother Mosese a big hug after his debut for the capital club.

Australian-born Mosese,23, only arrived in Scotland on his first overseas contract a few months ago and having big brother there to support him at the Hive meant a lot to him.

“It was good to have him here and I have been watching him for a while now over here and seeing what he has been able to achieve and I am just trying to follow in his footsteps,” said Mosese.

Big brother is well settled in Scottish rugby after coming to these shores three years ago and becoming an instant hit with club and country. That puts a bit of extra pressure on Mosese, also a centre, who has the success of his older sibling who is four years his senior to live up to.

It’s hard to gauge his potential as he played just the first 40 minutes in the pre-season 33-26 win over Gloucester but an early tackle on Ollie Thorley of Gloucester that he bundled into touch and a few other thumping hits showed he has the physicality to at least hold his own in the United Rugby Championship.

Before he decided to move to Scotland from the Waratahs in Australia he not surprisingly sought advice from his big brother and has been a regular visitor to his Glasgow home since he got here.

“To be fair I've been going over to Glasgow a bit and spending a lot of time with him,” said Mosese. “My nephew's just been born so it's been good spending time with him and Sione who has been giving me a lot of tips so I've kept him close.’’

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And what will it feel like to play against Sione when Edinburgh take on Glasgow Warriors over the festive period? “To be fair we have been speaking about it a bit at home,” he said with a smile on his face. “I am sure it will be special if I get the opportunity to play against him. We are pretty competitive both of us so it will be interesting to see when we go head to head.”

Edinburgh head coach Sean Everitt’s decision to sign him - backed by Scotland coach Gregor Townsend who hopes to see the brothers play together at international level one day- was a controversial one.

Detractors suggested he didn’t have much of a track record - he hardly played for his previous club Waratahs and had been injured a lot - and that his signing blocked the pathway to the top for a homegrown Scottish player.

Mosese, who has played all his rugby in Australia up until now, accepts that he still has a lot to prove but was pleased to make his Edinburgh debut. “I was super-stoked just to get out on the field,” said the Melbourne-born centre who qualifies for Scotland like his brother did through their grandmother from Greenock.

“I kind of finished off the year playing Shute Shield (semi-pro cup competition) in Australia so it's definitely a lot faster here. I’m enjoying it so hopefully we get off to a good start in the URC next week against Leinster as we were stoked to get the win against Gloucester.

“I’ve just found a new place to stay so I’m just settling in there by myself but in terms of the boys they've made me feel really comfortable and they're good lads. I’ve just got to get used to the weather and that’s about it.”

He is now looking forward to being involved in his first league match for Edinburgh against Leinster in the opening URC fixture at the Hive next Friday evening. The friendly against Gloucester saw Edinburgh change all 15 of their players at half-time and penalties being run rather than kicked so the intensity will be much higher against the crack Irish outfit.

“Now that I’ve finished the pre-season I am just trying to start the season off as best I can,’’ said the Edinburgh centre. “I've had a few injuries in the past so I'm just trying to stay healthy and push myself and learn as much as I can off these senior players like Matt Scott and Mark Bennett.

“I talk quite a bit during the week to Matt in training and he's awesome. He's given me pointers and I'm just trying to learn as much as I can from him. He’s obviously got a lot of experience and I really enjoyed it out there for 40 minutes against Gloucester with him. He's a big ball carrier so it was good to work with him.

“I started at 13 against Gloucester but I've played a bit more at 12 so I guess I enjoy that a bit more. That’s where I can get my hands on the ball a bit more but I'm just trying to learn a new position, I haven't played much 13 so I would like to play a bit more of that and try to get good at that position.”